TPi April 2008

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28 Tube Products International April 2008
Slotting machines –
solutions for water drainage
The use of slotted pipes in water drainage systems is recommended in all
situations where excess water in the land causes instability or decreases the
land’s resistance.
Sica slotting machines work with
this kind of piping and are capable
of creating a wide range of slot
configurations in pipe walls.
Thanks to an exclusive patented
system, the cutting tools can be
positioned at any point on the pipe
by setting the reciprocal position
between the tools and the wall
both axially and radially.
The cutting tools consist of a group
of circular blades set in different
distance pattern, according to the
application.
The blades are installed on a
rotating blade-holder shaft fitted
to a mechanical arm capable of
cutting a series of slots of settable
distance and size in a single
cycle.
The Sica product range has two slotting machine versions to choose from,
the F400 OL and the F630 OL. The F400 OL slotter is an automatic machine
designed for cutting slots in rigid plastic pipes (including socketed pipes) of
diameter 60-400mm and maximum thickness 35mm, and can process up to
seven pipes of 6m in length per hour. The F630 OL version cuts slots in rigid-
walled pipes of diameter 110-630mm and maximum thickness 50mm, at a rate
of six pipes of 6m in length per hour.
The machines can be configured to process pipes in different kinds of plastic,
such as PVC-U, HDPE and PP, and with different wall geometries, either
compact smooth or corrugated. The new Sica slotting machine models are in
line with the requirements of the most demanding operators, who are looking for
flexible and simple machining processes, efficient dust and chips vacuuming,
low noise and safety.
Sica SpA – Italy
•
Sica’s slotting machines can create a wide S S
range of slot configurations in pipe walls
The cutting tools consist of a group of S S
circular blades
Hailong (Zhangjiagang) Industry
Company Limited, China, was
established in April 2006, and specialises
in manufacturing seamless titanium and
stainless steel tubes and pipes. The
company mainly produces products to
ASTM or ASME standards, and has an
annual capacity of 3,000 tons. Seamless
stainless steel tubes and pipes are
available in diameters from 8 to 426mm,
up to 20 metres in length, in materials
including 304, 304L, 316, 31803 and
32750. Titanium seamless tube and
pipe diameters range from 3 to 114mm,
up to 15 metres long, in materials such
as Gr 2, Gr 7, Gr 9 and Gr 12. Hailong
has set up a trading department offering
titanium plates, sheets, bars, fittings,
fasteners, etc. With the advantage of
being familiar with the Chinese industry,
Hailong provides products that have
successfully met inspections by BV,
SGS, Lloyd’s and MOODY.
Hailong (Zhangjiagang) Industry
Company Limited – China
Investment in
welding
Tubería Laguna, a Mexican ERW carbon
steel pipe manufacturer, is improving
the quality of its products by making
important investments to upgrade its
equipment and machinery with state of
the art technology.
The company recently invested in a
variable frequency welder, developed by
Thermatool. Welding frequency defines
the depth of heat penetration in the
HF welded pipe strip edges. This new
technology has the flexibility to select
the optimum weld frequency for a given
material by adjusting both the weld
power and frequency, and providing the
following benefits:
• Consistent welding of high quality
pipe in a wide range of tensile
strength materials, complex alloys
and galvanised products on one
mill
• Welding of better quality pipe with
higher strengths, and a broader
range of difficult diameter/thickness
ratios
• Production of optimum ID and OD
weld beads
• Extended life of both ID and OD
scarfing toolsand impeders, reducing
production costs and increasing mill
uptime
• Improved quality in secondary
bending or hydroforming operations
• Repeatability of optimum welding
parameters for any product at the
touch of a button
• Maximised yields and reduced
scrap
Tubería Laguna SA de CV – Mexico
Tubes in stainless steel and titanium
developmentsproducts &